Vanessa the Sorceress

I've been sporadically working on the Sword & Sorcery images as time permits. Between work and family demands, time to work on the project has been minimal at best. Vanessa is at the top of my list of models whose images need to be completed, and I've made significant progress on those images. I've completed the sword shots, picked out the sorceress shots, and processed about half of those. With any luck, I'll get the images completed this week and the CD in the mail to the model shortly afterward.

One lesson I learned from this studio shoot is that I needed more space between the model and the background for the depth of field I wanted to use. Given the studio space I had to work with, this wasn't really much of an option. Maybe I need to rent a warehouse the next time. Ideally, I'd like a space long enough to use a 135mm lens on a full frame camera and wide enough for a set of lights on either side of a 10 foot wide backdrop. By my calculations I would need a space of about 35-40 feet long by 15-20 feet wide. This would give me 10-15 feet behind the model and 5-10 feet on either side of the backdrop. I could live with that.  Of course, that's about 800 square feet of studio space which is not an inexpensive option, given the requirements for a studio.

I've seen a couple of warehouse/office spaces in the area that are renting for about $400/month through October of this year (the landlord claims this is 1/2 prices), but I simply don't shoot enough to justify a dedicated studio space. For the past few months I've been renting a studio on an as needed basis. There was a studio in the St. Johns area of North Portland that was my primary source of studio space, but the owner gave that up to move to a space in downtown Portland that's smaller and less convenient, so I'm not sure how often I'll actually use that space. Of course, if it's my only option, then I'll use it as I need it.

It really would be sweet to have my own space, though. That way I could leave the backdrops and lights set up, store all my most used props, and shoot anytime I felt like shooting, and it would save lots of hauling and set-up time. I've actually even considered selling my home and buying something that would give me decent studio space. I was serious enough about it that Wanda and I even went to look at a few houses in a nearby development. The only listing I've seen that would even come close to providing the needed (wanted) space is an older home in a small community north and west of where we currently live and would involve a much longer commute to work, so that's not really an option at this point.

So, for right now, I'll muddle along as best I can and I hope I can produce more (and better) images like this: